By the middle of 2009, all American troops in Iraq will be restricted from active duty unless the Iraqi government calls on their assistance.There are mixed opinions on the likely efficacy of this agreement.

The Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials is forging ahead with public hearings that could
result in recommended pay raises for Missouri's elected officials and
judges, even though the 22-member salary commission is meeting with just 10 members because Gov. Matt Blunt has not made appointments.

While most parents had just one or two kids competing in the Show-Me State 3v3 Soccer
Tournament at MU's Stankowski Field over the weekend, Stan Porter had 42. As head coach of the Hurricanes competitive soccer club in Waynesville, Porter says he views each of his players as an adopted child.

Despite billions of dollars invested in it, the federal initiative to move away from fossil fuels has encountered its greatest problems in the lack of alternative fuel stations where they have placed fleets, a Washington Post analysis finds.

Twelve years after a military sex scandal that led to changes in Army training, Fort Leonard Wood has seen a stream of cases in which drill sergeants have been accused of sexual misconduct with women trainees. Since February 2007, at least 14 drill sergeants or other trainers have
faced courts-martial for improper relationships with soldiers
undergoing basic training, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Reynolds America Inc., the creator of Joe Camel, has nationally released a new smokeless tobacco product in an attempt to attract tobacco lovers tired of being forced outside for a smoke. But, health officials and smokers may take some convincing.

An ancient mummy mask unearthed in 1952 at the Saqqara pyramids near Cairo went from a storeroom in a warehouse at Saqqara in 1959 to the St. Louis Art Museum in 1998. What happened in the years between is a mystery.

Ted Haggard, former superstar pastor, is making himself a public figure again after he was disgraced two years ago in a sex-and-drugs scandal. He has returned as a Christian businessman who is selling life insurance out of his home and recently spoke at a church in Morrison, Ill.